Retailers must prioritize digitalization and digital transformation efforts — and fast. While ecommerce has surged in 2020, it’s not nearly enough to offset the impact of the shutdowns many retailers experienced. The ability to digitally transform will be the difference between success and failure in retail’s next chapter.
Agile and adaptable digital solutions are the new normal for optimizing premium fulfillment center space, said SnapFulfil CEO, Don White – as well as satisfying more demand, staying competitive, plus managing labor efficiency and productivity.
In the peak holiday season like no other, Adobe is calling for a 33% increase in holiday ecommerce sales from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, hitting a record $189 billion, equal to two years’ growth from a single year, as retailers, carriers and solution providers alike gear up for a blowout.
Shopping malls are well-positioned to become a centralized operating system for smaller retailers to leverage the operational and financial benefits of things like BOPIS and curbside. Creating a flexible range of services, spaces, leases and more will help malls regain community relevance and become profitable. Here’s how it can happen.
Issues with sizing and color conventions have probably been an issue since the invention of clothes. And with so much shopping now driven online by the pandemic, combined with generally liberal return policies, apparel returns have exploded. New technology solutions and industry standards are both working to solve the problem.
A former Macy’s executive and a Wall Street veteran have teamed up to start a retail acquisition and advisory group that’s looking to build up a stable of purpose-driven brands it can help scale and grow globally. The group launched with the acquisition of distressed Canadian apparel brand Frank and Oak, which closed on Oct. 8.
Analysts and experts are looking optimistically to modest retail holiday sales gains to cap off a tough year, but like most of the rest of 2020 it will be a tale of two channels as stores remain a question mark during some fall pandemic surges and consumer wariness.
The pandemic dramatically accelerated the retail industry’s digital transformation. Large retailers had the technology and processes necessary to respond quickly, but others found their entire business models upended overnight. While some changes may go, what will stay is a renewed focus on building community in retail.
In a familiar theme for omnichannel retailers who have gotten ahead of the curve in digital transformation, Macy’s reported store sales down 61% in the second quarter, while ecommerce increased 53%. Still brick-and-mortar news was not all bad, as stores reopened stronger than expected and luxury goods outpaced projections.
Nike is shutting out nine of its retail partners as the company continues a major focus and shift toward direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, according to a note from Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Sam Poser. The nine retailers are Belk, Dillard’s, Zappos, Boscov’s, Bob’s Stores, Fred Meyer, EBLens, VIM and City Blue.